Carpathian 05 - Dark Challenge

Savannah. We will come if you have need of us; otherwise, we will all meet at a later date .
    I have no need , Julian assured the healer. He had faith in his own abilities. He didn't want or need the healer's interference or presence. Gregori doubtless knew the exact nature of the darkness crouching in Julian's soul, a fact Julian had successfully kept even from his own twin. Gregori believed in his honor, but he also knew Julian was shadowed, and might decide such a one had no right to Desari, no right to her at all.
    Julian had no intention of giving up Desari. It would be impossible even if he were inclined to do so.
    They were tied together for all eternity. The ritual words had been spoken. Although they had not completed the entire cycle of the ritual, the ancient words themselves were binding, and Julian knew the consequences. They would be unable to be apart without intense grief, without dire physical discomfort.
    And the waves of Carpathian heat would eventually overcome them, demanding they unite.
    It was a protection for the male's sanity, for his soul, that he could bind his mate to him for all time regardless of her fears. Fears could be dealt with; the destruction of one's soul was for all eternity. Desari believed she could control her destiny, that she had a choice, but Julian knew better. She belonged to him, was a part of him. Not even Darius could change that without destroying her. And if his own honor demanded he do the right thing, release her from one such as him, it was already too late. He had tied them together in the heat of their first meeting. It was done.
    Julian sighed softly and held her close to him. "Your brother is Carpathian and blood kin to you. I would not wish harm to him. If it is necessary that we remain with him to ensure that he does not allow harm to come to himself, then that is what we will do."
    Desari knew Julian believed he was making a great concession for her, but he wasn't doing her any favors. Darius would not accept him easily into their circle. Neither would Dayan or Barack. The males were difficult at best. For hundreds of years they had depended upon one another, interacted with one another. They would not willingly allow a stranger into their midst.

Chapter Five
    Desari lifted her head from the warmth and temptation of Julian's chest. Her enormous eyes were soft with sadness. "I know you do not understand, but I can do no other than return to my family right now. I refuse to continue being irresponsible, selfish, when my brother has given so much."
    She expected Julian to argue with her, and her hand, positioned over his heart, trembled. Julian's golden eyes drifted possessively over her upturned face. His burning hunger, so intense, so blatant, took her breath away, stole her resolve. How could a man need her so much? How could he show that need to her without ego or fear that he would be totally vulnerable? How could she turn away from such an honest burning need? "Julian." She whispered his name, an aching desire, feeling torn between two strong men, two loyalties, one she didn't even understand.
    "We have a few short hours until the dawn, cara . If you insist on returning to Darius, then we must do so." His voice was a soft, mesmerizing spell, seductive and masculine. Just the sound of it threatened her precarious will. His words said one thing, while his blatant, sexy heat whispered something altogether Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    different.
    "Julian, you have to stop looking at me like that," she cautioned him, something blocking her throat so that it felt impossible to breathe. She tried to pull her gaze away from the intensity of his. "I cannot think when you look at me like that."
    His hand moved over the silken mass of her hair, his fingers rubbing the strands against the pad of his thumb as if he couldn't help himself. "Have you always been an entertainer?"
    There was a note in his voice, a drawling caress of admiration and sorcery that set her heart beating fast.
    He disarmed her entirely with that lazy, Italianate drawl of his. His question also threw her off track. It felt like a seduction, though it was innocent enough. "Yes, I always sang. We traveled to different continents every twenty-five years or so. That way no one ever noticed we did not age." His hand, the one that had been so innocently fingering strands of her hair, had somehow slipped to her shoulder. Those fingers were now rubbing